Leadership Team

I’ve participated off and on in the life of Common Street since nearly its beginning, hosting monthly workshops, serving as an Administrative Assistant, attending Open Circle, and coordinating the Small Groups program. 

In February 2025, I began consulting with Ian and the Council to help co-design a shared vision for the future of the Center that prioritizes community-building, shared leadership, and sustainable growth. That work prepared me to step into the role of part-time Interim Director when Ian unexpectedly went out on leave at the end of August.

For education, I have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University, a Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Boston College, and received value from a wide range of personal growth experiences with groups like Landmark, LifeResults, Avatar, Insight, HAI, and others. Professionally, I’ve worked in corporate and nonprofit environments, helping leaders simplify business processes, design learning and development programs, and implement workplace practices that reflect their values. I also currently serve as the Director of LifeWays for an international nonprofit called Sacred Fire.

I have a deep interest in team and group culture, the dynamics of trust, and how personal relationships get both damaged and healed. For over a decade I’ve developed The Gift of Happiness as a side project to help leaders create more authentic moments of human connection with and among their people. I’m also a certified coach in the Connection Practice, a simple and effective process for accessing both empathy and insight in tricky interpersonal situations. I welcome you to reach out any time!

Email Anne

I moved from East Tennessee to Boston in 1984 and began my career in biomedical research and education, eventually setting up a research laboratory and teaching Biology at Boston College. I settled in the Metrowest area in 1996. 

In 2014, I found “Developing Ecological Consciousness” by Christopher Uhl, a book that transformed my approach to teaching, and opened a path to trusting my deep self.  More beloved teachers include Joanna Macy, David Whyte, Thich Nhat Hanh, Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Olivia Butler, students, family, friends and this good, green Earth.  I’m a facilitator of The Work that Reconnects, and co-led monthly experiential workshops at CSSC from 2015-2019, exploring and honoring our interconnection with one another and with Earth.  I joined Common Street at the beginning of the pandemic, serving on the Sunday Circle (now Open Circle) and Song Circle teams for 3 years.  In 2022, I joined the Council out of my love of this community and my deep commitment to creating a life sustaining society.  I’m a part of Root and Bone, a Council for peri to post menopausal women stepping into their truth, wisdom and medicine as Wise Women.  I love creative and generative activities including singing, dancing, cooking, crocheting, painting and building community (and decks).

Email Laura

I’ve been an active program collaborator at the Common Street Spiritual Center for nearly seven years, and have served on its Board for the past four. Currently, I host the Men’s Wisdom Council, which meets every other Thursday evening. I live in Millis with my wife, Mary.

My professional life has taken me through the fields of Employee and Labor Relations, Risk Management, and Organizational Development in both healthcare and higher education. Along the way, I also worked as an Adventure Consultant and High Ropes Instructor—a role that

allowed me to share my love of exploration, teamwork, and growth with a wide variety of groups. Until recently, I maintained a private psychotherapy practice at Roots and Wings Yoga and Healing Arts in Natick.

I hold a Master’s degree in Psychology and have a deep and abiding interest in Indigenous and earth-based spiritual traditions, including: participating in numerous Indigenous healing ceremonies, co-creating seasonal rituals with local goddess-centered women’s groups and studying Tibetan Shamanism for over 12years. Presently I am a member of the New England Antiquarian Research Association, which is dedicated to identifying and preserving ancient ceremonial stone landscapes throughout the Northeast.

Beyond these pursuits, I’m a photographer whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Through my camera—and in my spiritual and professional life alike—I’m continually drawn to the beauty of connection, presence, and the mystery that runs through both nature and human experience.

Email Michael

I moved to Newton in May of 2025 with my wife, Meaghan, and three teenage kids. Within that month I discovered the Common Street Spiritual Center out of curiosity about the area and as a side effect of a taxi mission to deliver my kids to a volleyball opportunity. Impressed by the building and even more by the statements of purpose posted there, I reached out to the Center’s Director to learn more about what the CSSC was all about. After a few deep and long conversations about the worthiest of human projects, I signed up to become a member and began attending a few of the programs offered at the Center.

In every interaction I’ve had at the Center and with those associated with it, I’ve been thrilled by the sincerity, diversity, generosity, and common purpose of the Common Street community. So many voices expressing the ways of a love-centered community. So many practices shared in pursuit of peace, personal discovery, and belonging. Such a commitment to the divine source of the Good expressed uniquely and yet honored specifically because it resonates in common with the others expressing their own uniqueness. Here are people enacting the positive aspects of what churches and personal practices have done for centuries, but here it’s free of the dogma or political intent of any particular religion or creed. Here I’ve recognized an amazing potential for weaving together a shared truth and way of living in communion from the unique strands of truth which emerge naturally from each of our experiences.

When invited to join the Council, I saw a great fit. My experience in interfaith and philosophical studies, my leadership experience in a variety of organizations and as a business owner, my hands-on experience with practical real-world matters, my life long exploration of the magic that makes collaboration and co-creation possible, all these had me already looking for a role like this. However, it was the sense of alignment, commitment, and sincerity I found in the other Council members that most made my answer “yes”. So now I find myself a steward of the CSSC and servant-leader of the community in a time that requires some important next steps. My goal will always be to help liberate and align all of this obvious potential toward growth and thriving of the community together and all its members as individuals.

Ask me anything! Let’s talk about your vision for this community!

Email Guy

I value Common Street for our dedication to co-creating a sense of belonging and fostering a loving, inclusive environment. Being part of it has deepened my growth, strengthened my spiritual practice, and enhanced my sense of connection. I especially cherish our Open Circle and the cultural activities that bring us together and celebrate our diversity. Most of all, I value how we build this community with one another—creating a space where love, care, and belonging grow through shared intention.

Professionally, I help organizations and mission-driven teams build stronger, more effective ways of working—turning complexity into clarity and friction into forward momentum. As an organizational coach and strategist, I work with leaders navigating growth, transformation, and challenging dynamics, bringing structure, insight, and alignment to how people collaborate. At refine+focus, I focus on practical, real-time team development that integrates into everyday work rather than adding more to people’s plates.

Over the past 15+ years, I’ve partnered with nonprofits, foundations, and social impact organizations to strengthen leadership, sharpen strategy, and improve collaboration. My work has included initiatives supported by the World Bank, programs that increased foreign investment in developing regions, and efforts to scale impact across healthcare, education, and international development.

With training in systems thinking, innovation strategy, and cross-sector leadership, I bring a perspective that links people strategy directly to mission impact. I also serve on the boards of the MINDS Foundation and the Center for Intimacy Justice, supporting initiatives in mental health, human rights, and social justice.

It is a joy and an honor to build, together, a community rooted in love, belonging, and shared growth.

Email Zach

For me, everything begins with relationship—relationship to self, to others, and to the greater mystery that holds us all. As a board member of the Common Street Spiritual Center for over five years, I’m continually inspired by this sangha’s heart and devotion to the unfolding of spirit in everyday life. I believe in the power of community to awaken the heart and remind us who we truly are.

Before dedicating myself to the healing arts, I spent 25 years in business, guided by relationships and inner reflection as my compass. Those same values shape my life and work today.

As a Nondual Kabbalistic and Shamanic Healer, intuitive guide, and spiritual teacher, my calling is to help others bridge the inner and outer worlds—to heal, grow, and live from a place of wholeness and authenticity. My lifelong devotion is to the liberation of the human spirit, shared in service with this beautiful community.